[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 4]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR651.48]

[Page 425-426]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER V--DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 651--ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ARMY ACTIONS (AR 200-2)--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart G--Public Involvement and the Scoping Process
 
Sec. 651.48  Scoping process.

    (a) The scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) is intended to aid in 
determining the scope of the analyses and significant issues related to 
the proposed action. The process requires appropriate public 
participation immediately following publication of the NOI in the FR. It 
is important to note that scoping is not synonymous with a public 
meeting. The Army policy is that EISs for legislative proposals 
significantly affecting the environment will go through scoping unless 
extenuating circumstances make it impractical. In

[[Page 426]]

some cases, the scoping process may be useful in the preparation of EAs 
and should be employed when it is useful.
    (b) The scoping process identifies relevant issues related to a 
proposed action through the involvement of all potentially interested or 
affected parties (affected federal, state, and local agencies; 
recognized Indian tribes; interest groups, and other interested persons) 
in the environmental analysis and documentation. This process should:
    (1) Eliminate issues from detailed consideration which are not 
significant, or which have been covered by prior environmental review; 
and
    (2) Make the analysis and documentation more efficient by providing 
focus to the effort. Proper scoping identifies reasonable alternatives 
and the information needed for their evaluation, thereby increasing 
public confidence in the Army decisionmaking process.
    (c) Proper scoping will reduce both costs and time required for an 
EA or EIS. This is done through the documentation of all potential 
impacts and the focus of detailed consideration on those aspects of the 
action which are potentially significant or controversial. To assist in 
this process the Army will use the Environmental Impact Computer System 
(EICS) starting in Fiscal Year (FY) 04, as appropriate. This system will 
serve to structure all three stages of the scoping process (Sec. 651.49, 
651.50, and 651.51) and provide focus on those actions that are 
important and of interest to the public. While these discussions focus 
on EIS preparation and documents to support that process, the three 
phases also apply if scoping is used for an EA. If used in the 
preparation of an EA, scoping, and documents to support that process, 
can be modified and adopted to ensure efficient public iteration and 
input to the decision-making process.
    (d) When the planning for a project or action indicates the need for 
an EIS, the proponent initiates the scoping process to identify the 
range of actions, alternatives, and impacts for consideration in the EIS 
(40 CFR 1508.25). The extent of the scoping process (including public 
involvement) will depend upon:
    (1) The size and type of the proposed action.
    (2) Whether the proposed action is of regional or national interest.
    (3) Degree of any associated environmental controversy.
    (4) Importance of the affected environmental parameters.
    (5) Significance of any effects on them.
    (6) Extent of prior environmental review.
    (7) Involvement of any substantive time limits.
    (8) Requirements by other laws for environmental review.
    (e) The proponent may incorporate scoping in the public involvement 
(or environmental review) process of other requirements, such as an EA. 
In such cases, the extent of incorporation is at the discretion of the 
proponent, working with the affected Army organization or installation. 
Such integration is encouraged.
    (f) Scoping procedures fall into preliminary, public interaction, 
and final phases. These phases are discussed in Sec. 651.49, 
Sec. 651.50, and Sec. 651.51, respectively.